Sports
Red Raiders Advance to Sectional Title Game
Miller scores 22 as Huntley moves one step closer to sectional championship with 57-46 win over Elgin
Huntley played their seventh game of the season at Jacobs High School Tuesday night in the IHSA Class 4A Jacobs Sectional semifinals against Elgin.
After playing in the Jacobs Holiday Classic and a road game against Jacobs, the Red Raiders were pretty familiar with their surroundings especially Troy Miller, who made six 3-pointers and led Huntley in the sectional championship game with a 57-46 win over the Maroons. Huntley (25-4) will play the winner of Wednesday’s other semifinal between South Elgin and Rockford Auburn in Friday’s championship game.
The Red Raiders got off to a fast start, scoring 10 of the game’s first 12 points before Elgin responded with nine straight points to end the quarter with an 11-10 advantage. In the second quarter with the game tied at 13, Huntley struck again with a 9-2 run to take a 22-15 lead and would lead 25-18 at halftime. Huntley would add to their advantage in the third quarter, going on another 9-2 run for a ten-point advantage that Elgin couldn’t recover from. Miller finished the game with 22 points while Justin Frederick added 16. Miller said it is a very familiar court for the team after all the games played there this season.
Find out what's happening in Huntleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“I liked the rims on this court and we’ve played like eight games here this year,” Miller said. “We know the gym real well and I was on fire I guess. We know the court and there was a lot of energy in the gym. It was fun to playing out there.”
Huntley coach Marty Manning said that with the shooting night Miller had, he had a simple question for his junior guard after the game.
Find out what's happening in Huntleywith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“The first thing I said to him in there was do you like these rims better than Prairie Ridge because he was like 2-for-16 over there (in the regionals),” Manning said. “I’m glad he got back on.”
Huntley will play in their first sectional final since the 2007-08 year where Huntley lost to Sterling 47-41 in the Class 3A playoffs. Miller said it is a great opportunity for the team.
“It is real big, our goal was a regional championship and then we wanted to see how far we could go and now we’re doing it,” Miller said. “I don’t know how many Huntley teams have done it this before. It’s a great feeling.”
Friday night’s game begins at 7:30 p.m. at Jacobs High School in Algonquin.
